5G New Radio (NR) is a key enabler of accurate positioning in smart cities and smart factories. This paper presents the experimental results from three 5G positioning testbeds running open-source OpenAirInterface (OAI) gNB and Core Network (CN), using Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDoA) with the newly integrated Location Management Function (LMF). The testbeds are deployed across both indoor factories and outdoor scenarios with O-RAN Radio Units (RUs), following a 3GPP-compliant system model. The experiments highlight the impact of synchronization impairments, multipath propagation, and deployment geometry on positioning accuracy. To address these challenges, we propose tailored ToA and TDoA filtering as well as a novel position estimation method based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) within the LMF pipeline. Moreover, we show a beyond-5G framework that leverages non-conventional measurements such as Channel Impulse Response (CIR) to train and test Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) models for data-driven positioning. The results demonstrate the feasibility of achieving 1-2 meter positioning accuracy in 90% of cases in different testbeds, offering practical insights for the design of robust 5G positioning systems. Moreover, we publicly release the datasets collected in this work to support the research within the 5G positioning community.
Experimental insights from OpenAirInterface 5G positioning testbeds: Challenges and solutions
WINTECH 2025, 19th ACM Workshop on Wireless Network Testbeds, Experimental evaluation & Characterization, 8 November 2025, Hong Kong, HK, Co-located with ACM MobiCom 2025 / Also submitted to ArXiV, 27 August 2025
Type:
Conférence
City:
Hong Kong
Date:
2025-11-08
Department:
Systèmes de Communication
Eurecom Ref:
8373
Copyright:
© ACM, 2025. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in WINTECH 2025, 19th ACM Workshop on Wireless Network Testbeds, Experimental evaluation & Characterization, 8 November 2025, Hong Kong, HK, Co-located with ACM MobiCom 2025 / Also submitted to ArXiV, 27 August 2025
See also:
PERMALINK : https://www.eurecom.fr/publication/8373